Redmond-based software giant Microsoft has confirmed the release of its much rumored release to manufacturing (RTM) build of the Office, Office 2013, and disclosed a probable launch date for the software.

Per reports, Microsoft announced the end of development and RTM of Office 2013, and stated that the company's final build of the software will be available to IT professionals and developers (MSDN and TechNet customers) in mid-November, with also a release to Volume Licensing customers at the same time.

"This is the most ambitious release of Office we've ever done. It spans the full family of Office applications, servers and cloud services. The new Office has a fresh, touch friendly design that works beautifully on Windows 8 and unlocks modern scenarios in social, reading, note-taking, meetings and communications. We are proud to achieve this milestone and are eager to deliver this exciting release to our customers," states the official Microsoft blog.

According to a company spokesperson, the general availability of Office 2013 for consumers is "planned for the first quarter of 2013."

The official blog also notes that starting Oct. 19, customers who will be purchasing Office 2010 from local retailers or resellers will receive the new Office for free upon availability. What's more, customers will also be able to check out a preview version of the new Office on Windows RT devices, beginning with the Windows 8 launch, scheduled for Oct. 26.

Office 2013 is set to include a host of improvements that will make it cloud friendly, and also offer support for touch-based Windows 8 tablets. From the previous preview version of Office 2013, which was revealed earlier this year, new additions like streaming Office support and subtle UI have already seemed like great additions to the popular Office build, which will arrive alongside a highly-improved Outlook app.

The company further averred that it will start rolling out brand new capabilities to Office 365 Enterprise customers in its next service update. This roll out will start in November via general availability. Moreover, Volume Licensing customers with Software Assurance will be able to download the Office 2013 applications alongside other Office products (including SharePoint 2013, Lync 2013 and Exchange 2013) via the Volume Licensing Service Center by mid-November.

These products will be available on the Volume Licensing price list from Dec. 1.